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As he felt spiritual power flowing through his meridians, his expression finally changed. He knew the extent of his injuries: his meridians had fallen into chaos, he had been gravely wounded, and he had still forced himself to slay a demon beast. The price had been clear. Even an elder of his sect would have needed considerable time to soothe meridians damaged like his, yet this young girl had done it in the space of a breath.

He pushed himself to his feet and stared at Qiao Ranran in astonishment.

Pei Ling spoke then. "We're out of time."

The demon beast's mighty pressure swept over them like a sky falling to earth. Given its strength and the savage aura within it, Qiao Ranran doubted she had enough charm to sit down and "have a nice chat" with it. The Hundred-Beast Pill did not look likely to help, either.

Pei Ling glanced their way. "Over here!" He strode to a nearby cliff, struck it with his palm, and blasted out a cave in an instant. He went in first.

Qiao Ranran followed without asking questions.

The man no longer suspected Qiao Ranran and Pei Ling of ill intent. He hurried in after them. Pei Ling made no effort to hide the disgust on his face when he saw the man enter, and the man could only smile awkwardly.

Who would choose death if they could live? He had already seen the young girl's medical skill, and the young man's methods looked formidable too. The moment he stepped inside, the young man formed a spell art and struck the ground. Soil and stone surged up, quickly sealing the opening he had blasted through the cliff face.

The dim cave plunged into darkness. Pei Ling flicked his fingers, sending a speck of light drifting through the cave. By its glow, Qiao Ranran could see that he had not stopped moving. One spell art after another, accompanied by formations, struck the cave wall.

The sight made Qiao Ranran's eyes blur. She had thought her own hands were exceptionally quick at forming spells, but Pei Ling's put hers to shame! At first, she could barely keep up and make sense of what he was doing. Later, all she could see were afterimages of his fingers, and she no longer recognized the formations he laid down. But she could tell that every formation and spell art was meant to protect them, or at the very least conceal their presence.

The man said nothing. He found a corner and sat down, then used the spiritual power he had just gathered to cast a Dust-Cleansing Spell, washing the blood and grime from his body. It was not that he cared about cleanliness. The scent clinging to him was a danger, especially the demon beast's blood. If others of its kind caught the scent, they would surely track him down. Then not only he, but the young man and woman before him would be hard-pressed to escape.

Seeing the man settle straight into meditation, slowly regulate his breathing, and tend to the meridians she had already treated, Qiao Ranran nodded in approval. She liked clever people, especially clever people who did not waste words. Clever, careful with their lives, and able to read the situation—what more could she ask for?

Pei Ling found a corner and sat down too.

Qiao Ranran looked over and saw that his face was alarmingly pale. Laying down all those formations and using so many high-level spell arts had placed too great a burden on someone only at the Foundation Establishment Stage. His complexion had turned ashen, and only his eyes shone brightly in the dark.

"Headache?" Qiao Ranran took out an Essence-Recovery Pill and held it to his lips. Once he had swallowed it, she reached naturally for his wrist. The chaotic energy and stirring toxins inside him startled her. "Couldn't you have held back a little?"

Why push yourself like that now?

Pei Ling's head was already throbbing. Her words made him laugh in exasperation. "Qiao Ranran, who gave you the nerve?" She actually had the nerve to lecture me?

Qiao Ranran lowered her head, rolled her eyes, and pulled out her silver needles. She was about to begin when Pei Ling caught her wrist. She bristled at once. "Not again!" It was the same move every time. Was he not afraid she would stick him with a needle and knock him out again?

Pei Ling eyed the silver needles in her hand with undisguised distaste. "You just used those." He had not noticed before, but she had stuck those needles into someone else and now meant to use them on him? Come to think of it, when she had used needles to ease his headache by the sea, they had just been stuck into that lump of mangled flesh on the ground!

The stubborn tuft of hair atop Qiao Ranran's head nearly sprang upright. "You can look down on me all you want, but you absolutely cannot look down on my needles! Besides, I personally clean every needle again and again with spiritual power and spell arts! There's no way anything could remain on them!"

Pei Ling's disgust was a challenge to Qiao Ranran's professional standards. She bristled all over.

Pei Ling fell silent as he looked at this wholly different Qiao Ranran. So she had this side to her too. It was nothing like her steady focus when treating patients, her bright curiosity when she encountered a difficult illness or a new spirit plant, or her thoughtful care when giving patients instructions.

So that stubborn tuft atop her head really did stand on end when she got worked up.

Pei Ling reached out and pressed the tuft down, along with every last bit of Qiao Ranran's defiance.

What had she done while she was out of her mind just now? Did that count as losing her temper with Pei Ling? Was he about to give her a real "head-pat kill"?

Then Pei Ling said evenly, "Don't use those needles on me again."

???

"Your acupuncture technique is better suited to golden needles. I'll find you a set later." Pei Ling emphasized every word: "For. Me. Only."

"..." Fine, she got it. This proud, prickly man wanted his own set of golden needles. He refused to share with anyone else, even if the needles were clean. That was all right. He had said he would provide the golden needles himself, and she would get them for free. Why turn them down? "But what do we do now? Doesn't your head hurt?"

"..." Pei Ling's pupils trembled slightly. "It hurts..."

Qiao Ranran sighed and put away her silver needles. "Let go. I'll massage it for you."

Besides acupuncture, she could ease the pain by shaping spiritual power into needles to massage the acupoints. That was too difficult for her at present, but she could gather spiritual power at her fingertips and make do.

Rankings

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Transmigration into a Book

Sweet Romance Novel

Transmigration and Rebirth Romance

Dahei Aichi Yu

Double Rebirth

Xianxia Novel